


Family Bonds

by bettername2come



Category: This Is Us (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gen, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-06
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-09 15:12:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12279045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettername2come/pseuds/bettername2come
Summary: Randall explains to Toby just why he shouldn't push against the Kevin/Kate bond.





	Family Bonds

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing cry-worthy that isn't true of the original series.

A day after the entire Pearson family abandoned Kevin’s taping of _The Manny_ , they were gathered Kate and Toby’s apartment. Kevin and Rebecca had the girls distracted with family photos featuring the worst fashion the nineties had to offer when Randall slipped into the kitchen.

Toby was bent over the oven, pulling out his latest batch of pigs in blankets.

“So I hear you tried to get Kevin and Kate to stay apart,” Randall said out of the blue as he grabbed a few from the cookie sheet before Miguel could devour them all.

Toby straightened up, setting the metal sheet on top of the stove. “So wait, is every dumbass thing I say going to get passed through the entire Pearson family tree?”

“Well, Mom and Kate don’t talk that much, and Tess and Annie are probably a little young for some of it, but that is pretty much how it goes.” Randall grinned. “So how did coming between Kate and Kevin go for you?”

“They both yelled at me.”

Randall nodded. “Yeah, they’re really good at that. The acting and the singing. They project their voices well.”

“Can I just ask what I’m doing wrong?”

“You tried to split up Kate and Kevin. That’s where you went wrong.”

Toby shook his head. “No, no, don’t tell me you buy into this ‘psychic twin’ bond they talk about.”

“Hey, I’ve made fun of it too,” Randall said. “But it’s real though. I’ve seen it. I was there when Kevin started screaming out of nowhere when Kate broke her arm on the other side of town. I was with her when she tracked him down like a bloodhound the night our father died because he _had_ to hear it from her. And take it from someone who has been with them since day one, you can’t get in the way of that.”

“I’m not trying to get in the way of that.”

“Maybe you’re not,” Randall said. “But he’s been her person for thirty-seven years and you’ve known her for one. And there’s a lot you still don’t know about her. About our family.” Randall glanced down, trying to decide if he should share this next bit. “Has Kate told you why our parents decided to adopt me?”

“She said you were dropped off at the hospital the day they were born. Your dad thought it was fate.”

Randall smiled. “’A fact not a choice.’ That’s what Dad always said. But there’s more to it than that, and I don’t even know if I should be telling you this, but I think it might make things just a little clearer. They were triplets.”

“What?”

“Kate and Kevin had a brother. Another brother. Stillborn. And we don’t talk about it, but I think that’s part of the reason they cling to each other so much. Because on some subconscious level that I don’t think they even recognize, they know what it’s like to lose the one who’s been their person for, well, ever.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Yeah, and as far as Kate’s concerned, you still don’t. I am not about to face the wrath of Kate on that one. Just know that it’s not about you. It’s about a lifetime of having each other’s backs no matter what on top of whatever telepathic claim they have that has yet to be confirmed by medical science.” Randall put a hand on Toby’s shoulder. “And don’t worry so much about making the family like you. Almost everyone like you more than Miguel.”

Randall was out of the kitchen defending his childhood self’s sense of style before Toby could spit out the words “Wait, who like me less than Miguel?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely convinced that Kevin and Kate actually know they were triplets just because Randall and Rebecca have only talked about it amongst themselves, but I'm choosing to believe they know for the purposes of this fic.


End file.
